ruthless; jj m.

28

The next morning, the first thing we did was get on the road. 

We were driving on the Ravenel Bridge and Pope was driving, Kie was next to him, JJ was next to me, and I was at the window, looking out at the water. "Wonder where John B and Sarah are right now," JJ said. 

We all looked at him, then looked at the road. Our minds were filled with thoughts of them. We didn't know the next time we'd see them again, or if we would ever see them again. That's why we knew we had to clear John B's name. We had to see them again.

Finally, after a while of driving, we reached the Limbrey House. Kie was letting us know what she knew about the family. "They're fancy people. They've had, like, three governors in the family. They've run Charleston for, like, three hundred years." Kie shared.

"These Kooks make our Kooks look like Pogues," JJ said as we parked on the side of the road, next to the house. We were all mesmerized by the big house in front of us. "You sure this is the place, Pope?" JJ asked.

Pope parked the car and then got out. "Pretty sure." He said. "All right," JJ said. We all got out of the car and stood in front of the gate. "Fat City, for sure," JJ said. I asked Pope for the letter to make sure the address was correct. 

I read the note. "Twenty-seven King Street," I said as I looked over to the house, now knowing it was the correct place. "Talk about home security," JJ said as he looked at the spikes on top of the gate. "Those spikes to keep people out?" The blond asked. 

After looking at the spikes and then looking at the house, I knew exactly what they were for. "No," Kie said. "The slave quarters are over there," Pope said as he pointed ahead of him. "These spikes were to keep people in," Pope said. "Well, now I really don't wanna meet these people," I said. 

"We have to," Pope said as he opened the gate. We all walked through and approached the front door. Pope hit the door knocker against the door a few times before stepping back. "You think that was too much?" Pope asked JJ.

"It echoed the entire house. That's for sure. So, they definitely heard it." JJ answered his question. "Maybe nobody's home?" Kie suggested. She had a very worried look on her face and I didn't blame her.

Pope used the door knocker again but the door opened in the middle of him using it. A man stood in the doorway. I never like to generalize, but he looked like bad news. He looked over at Pope and pointed at him with a mischievous smile. "You must be Pope." The man said. 

"Um... are you Mr. Limbrey?" Pope asked, clearly uncomfortable. "Ms. Limbrey was expecting you yesterday." The man quickly corrected him. "Oh. I'm... I'm sorry. My car broke down on the way up here." Pope admitted nervously.

"Carborator blew up in the middle of Nowheresville. Sorry about that." JJ said. "Yeah, she was, uh, real upset when you didn't show up." The man said to Pope. "We tried to call, but there's no number on the invitation," Kie said. "We got here as fast as we could," I said to the man.

The man barely acknowledged anyone that wasn't Pope. "She also expected you to come alone." He said to Pope. "I mean, these are my friends. They helped find the Royal Merchant too. I--"

"Yeah, the instructions were explicit. Your friends can stay outside." The man said to Pope. "Well, we're kind of a package deal, man," JJ said to him. "JJ. It's okay. I got this." Pope said to his best friend. We all had looks of worry displayed on our faces. Pope turned to me and Kie. "I'll be good." He said to us. 

Kie nodded. "Yeah. We'll be right here." Kie said to him. Pope handed me the keys. "Keep the car running." He whispered. "Yeah," I said as I took the keys.